


Blood Debt

by Serendipitous_Posts



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24943552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serendipitous_Posts/pseuds/Serendipitous_Posts
Summary: His mother once told him to always repay his debts
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	Blood Debt

Scourge's mother had never been the best.

Oh, she was a _good_ mother, tried her best to raise her kits even as they were taken away, but even back then, back when Scourge had been Tiny and was even _tinier_ , he was aware of the favouritism going on between he and his siblings. She could deny it all she liked, it was there. It made him wonder, sometimes, how he may have turned out if-

Well. No use agonising over what-could-have-been's.

The point is that his mom _tried_ but she had never quite _succeeded_ , not with him at least.

She had her moments, though. Like the day he had been curled up, his front paws dangling over her bushy tail as he watched his siblings plot to annoy the old cat down the road. (He had long since stopped expecting to be invited.) He let out a squeak as she stood, so suddenly he was sent sprawling. "You two!" Quince had said, stern for once "you better not harass that poor tom!"

Startled at being caught out, the two blustered for a bit before deflating and slinking back towards her. "Sneak" Ruby hissed at him, trodding on his singular white paw as she passed. Their mother had since turned her attention to her other son, who was complaining up a storm.

"-so grouchy anyway! He deserves it!"

She was silent for so long, Tiny had actually started to believe she would let them. Instead, the molly sighed and pulled them in closer with her tail. "Listen to me you three" she said, as stern as she ever got "have you ever heard of debts?"

In sync for once, the three just blinked up at her. She sighed and rested her head on her paws. "It is a simple concept, really; if you hurt somebody, or pester them for your own amusement" she added with a hard look at Ruby and Socks "then they will try and do the same to you. I watched that tom almost tear another cats eye out. Do. Not. Anger. Him."

Tiny watched with no small amount of glee at how chastised his siblings looked for once. "Come on Socks" Ruby muttered, turning away "let's go chase a butterfly instead."

Knowing the dismissal when he heard it, Tiny instead chose to stay with his mother, who curled back up once more, still keeping and eye on her frolicking children. "Mom" Tiny said, suddenly curious as he watched his siblings too "that whole 'getting back at someone who wronged you' thing, is that for everybody or just grouchy old toms who can claw others eyes out?"

He expected her to be amused, at least at the last bit, but instead Quince's attention shifted, turning to face her smallest son instead. He squirmed slightly, unsure of what to make of the look in her eyes. "It does apply to everybody" she said, after a long beat of silence where he thought he was going to crawl out of his fur "but it also applies to the opposite."  
  


"The opposite?" He tilted his head, wincing when one of his ears flopped over to hit him in the eye.

His mother drew him close, so close they were almost nose to nose. "Yes, the opposite. If someone does something nice for you, you must try and repay them in some way" she paused, and the look in her eyes deepened "do you understand?"

Scared by her intensity, he nodded so hard he almost fell over. "Y-yes" he squeaked "I understand!" The look in her eyes vanished, to be replaced by calm, as she once again turned back to her other kits.

(years later, Scourge will realise what that look meant)

(it was fear)

* * *

Whenever Tiny had thought of debts, of revenge, he had always thought of it in relation to his siblings; tripping his sister for all the days she did the same to him, maybe even calling his brother a fluffhead, if he's really feeling up to it.

That was before he wandered into the forest.

He just- he doesn't know what he did _wrong_. He had been pouncing on a particularly long piece of grass, when all of a sudden, **he** was the one being pounced on. There's no time for him to defend himself, like he has a chance, letting out a squeak as he's thrown against the ground, the jeering laughs of the older cat ringing in his head. Above them, a spiky, older cat watches carefully, and Tiny meets his gaze, scared and hopeful. _Please help me!_

Instead, the tom turns to the younger cat and starts giving him tips.

He had left his home to avoid death, and instead he had walked right into it. He wants them to go away. He wants to go home.

He wants his **_mom_**.

And then, descending from the sky itself in a streak of blue-grey fur, she appeared. She looked between them all for a moment, before rounding on the older tom, _furious_. His attacker, who he can now clearly see is a cat not much older than he is, backs away as if he only just realised what he's done wrong.

(he keeps his amber eyes trained on tiny at all times however. he looks hungry)

The molly is named Bluefur, and she was very kind to him, making sure he's alright before herding the two off deeper into the forest. They didn't even look sorry. In fact, they look like they already forgot about what they just did

(he will remember though, even if they don't. remembers bluefur's kindness and tigerpaw's cruelty)

* * *

He built Bloodclan from the ground up, gathering followers as he goes. He eventually outgrew his old collar, but manages to get himself a new one, wasting no time to decorate it with new teeth.

Attaching teeth to his claws was a painful process but it worked out in the end, other cats flinching away at the sight of them. His paws ache sometimes, but he considered it a fair trade.

Fair trades were what Bloodclan was about, after all. He repaid loyalty with loyalty and betrayal with betrayal. Bloodclan always collects on it's debts after all. And no debt felt as well deserved as when his brother and sister stumbled in, begging for help.

Years of cruelty, of neglecting him and mocking him and chasing him away, and then they come to him. Had they heard he was missing? Had they even cared? He doubted it.

He repays their negligence with his own. 

(it's not the worst thing he could of have done, after all)

* * *

If having his siblings come crawling to him on their stomachs had been euphoric, then there are no words to describe how it feels when Tigerstar enters his domain. 

His little friend- Boulder?- was nervous, glancing around at the shadows and his deputies. _Good_. He knew to fear them.

The same couldn't be said for Tigerstar; strutting in here and demanding things of **him**. A big part of him wanted to reveal himself, wanted to go "remember me?" but he just manages to restrain himself.

(he's scared he wont)

Still, he knew an opportunity when he saw it, so he hands over the dogs, and lets the tom tear apart the forest.

(his time would come eventually)

* * *

He stood in the forest, alongside his 'ally', who was gloating to a tom that looked vaguely familiar, something in the way his coat seemed to be permanently ablaze. Then the tom stepped forward, and addressed him specifically. A part of him was impressed; that took serious guts, especially considering he could rip them out. The other part was just bored. Did this forest fool really think he needed any more motivation to kill the haunter of his nightmares?

He couldn't do it then, obviously. Killing Tigerstar in front of his clanmates was asking for trouble. No, instead he planned to let 'Tigerclan' and 'Lionclan' wear eachother down before stepping in and killing Tigerstar. He had been doing this long enough to know how to establish his leader-

Tigerstar killed Bluestar.

He had tilted his head a little at the news, not a lot, but enough to make every member of Bloodclan twitch nervously.

Tigerstar killed Bluestar. With his dogs.

He took a deep breath in, listened as the idiot blathered on and on about trust or whatever, while he was focused on the actual important piece of information. He thought of the warrior named Bluefur he had met so long ago, stepping in and defending him, making sure he was okay before sending him off.

( _change of plans_ )

When he announces that, Tigerstar is, of course, furious. But Scourge has had moons to fester and hate, and Tigerstar can never come close to the loathing Scourge feels whenever he looks at him. Their fight is everything he had ever dreamed of; brutal and unfair and cruel. He feels something in him settle, like how the ice had settled so long ago; finally the debt had been repaid.

He did the clan cats a favour; killing their most hated enemy. They are in his debt, even more so since he gave them an ultimatum before slaughtering them all. They can stay and die or flee and live.

It's their choice now. Their lives are in their own paws, just like how Tigerstar's had been in his.

(after, when their back in their makeshift camp, bone slinked up to him. "why did you change the plan?" he asked, the only one who dares to

scourge looks at his once-white paw, now soaked in blood and said "repaying an old debt")

(he's not sure which one)

**Author's Note:**

> I always thought how interesting it was the Bluefur saved Tiny when he was younger, and I always wondered what he must of have thought of her. I really liked the idea that he was . . less than pleased upon hearing what Tigerstar did to her


End file.
